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Show THE FORUM - AUGUST 20. ATHLETICS 11 2011 Westminster athletics explained and previewed of Joshua Fisher Information & Events Athletics Coordinator the start of another Wi year comes the of another season at West- Over 250 student-athletcomprise the 17 teams that compete as Westminster Griffins. The athletic season is divided into three seasons: fall, winter and spring. The fall season features the Westminster mens and womens cross country, mens and womens soccer and womens volleyball teams. All five of those teams are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete within the Frontier Conference. The conference features schools from Montana, Idaho and Utah. minster. es Mens &, womens alpine skiing, mens &. womens basketball and mens & womens snowboard all compete during the winter season. The ski teams compete against some of the top skiers in the country as members of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA). The basketball teams also compete in the Frontier ConferThe Westminster snowboard ence. teams are members of the United States Collegiate Ski &, Snowboard Association (USCSA). In the spring, mens and womens lacrosse compete as members of the Mens Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) and the Womens Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA). The Griffin mens and womens golf teams feature a fallspring schedule while the mens and womens track teams have an indoor season in the winter and an outdoor season in the fall. These teams are also members of the NAIA and Frontier Conference. The fall season begins in earnest on Aug. 26 when volleyball and both soccer teams are in action. You can catch Westminster soccer double-headon the 26th at Dumke Field as Baker a er University comes to town. The womens game wall kickoff at 1 p.m. with the mens game following at 4 p.m. This is the 28th consecutive season of mens soccer at Westminster. During that time the team has compiled a 246-226-overall record and advanced to the postseason 20 times. The 2011 squad returns 14 players from last last season. The Griffins went year and qualified for the Unaffiliated Conference Tournament for a third 39 9-9- -1 straight season. The mens soccer team will challenge themselves this year as they face eight teams that posted a winning record last season and two that qualified for the NAIA National Championships. The season begins with four straight home games, including the Aug. 26 contest against Baker. The Frontier Conference opener comes on Aug. 29 against Rocky Mountain College. La Sierra makes the trip to Salt Lake City to face the Griffins on Sept. 2 with the home stand concluding with a Sept. 3 game against McPherson College. The womens soccer team enters the fifth year of the program poised for the biggest year in team history. They bring back 10 of the top 11 scorers from last year, including the top four. The Griffins averaged 1.35 goals per game last year while attempting 11.2 shots per contest. Heather Hillam scored seven goals and 16 points in 2010 to lead the team. UPCOMING EVENTS Monday, Aug. SOCCER Friday, Aug. 26-Dum- ke Fieldhouse Men's Soccer 4 p.m. Women's Soccer -- 1 p.m. Opponent: Baker -- 29-Dum- Fieldhouse ke Men's Soccer - 6 p.m. Women's Soccer 4 p.m. -- Opponent: Rocky Mountain Frontier Conference Contest VOLLEYBALL Women's volleyball will compete in the 201 1 Bison Blast in Shawnee, OK on Aug. 26 and 27 Nicole Taylor and Jessica Harris had three goals apiece. Sarah Swenson had 21 two goals and fired a team-be- st shots on goal. Lindsay Bekken returns in goal after posting a 1.01 goals against average last season. Bekken made 79 saves with a 79.8 save percentage in 2010. The schedule for the 2011 season may be the toughest slate of games in school history. The Griffins will face five teams that qualified for the 2010 NAIA National Championships and 11 opponents that won at least 10 games last season. Womens volleyball returns 11 players and five starters from the 2010 of the squad that made the semi-fina- ls Frontier Conference Tournament. The Griffins could feature a starting six and libero a defensive specialist that includes five freshmen and sophomores in .2011. While young, four of the returning five sophomores played in at least 23 of the 25 matches from last season. This years schedule features seven teams that qualified for the 2010 NAIA National Championships along with five matches against teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference. The home opener is slated for Sept. 8 against Carroll College at 7 p.m. in the Behnken Field House. . GO GRIFFINS! r |